SUPERSTARS Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver Mtukudzi will share the stage in the United Kingdom in March, it was announced on Thursday.

Mapfumo and Mtukudzi – Zimbabwe’s most successful recording artists – will stage gigs in London and Leicester on March 15 and 16.

Ezra Tshisa Sibanda, a spokesman for the promoters Icons of Africa, said: “It’s easily the biggest Zimbabwean show on earth.”

The two singers, both in the business since the 1970s, last toured the UK together in 2009 when they were disrupted by the closure of one of the venues in Aston by health and safety officers hours before they were due to perform.

Now the two artists return for what is being ambitiously dubbed the ‘History Tour 2013’ – and promoters are leaving nothing to chance after booking two world-class venues.

Sibanda, a radio legend, said: “We have booked the 2,600-seater Coronet Theatre in Elephant and Castle [London] and the artists’ favourite, Athena [Leicester], which can take in excess of 2,200 people.

“Both venues have a seating area upstairs and bars on both floors. We have gone for quality, and it’s no less than what these two extra-ordinary superstars and their fans deserve.”

Mapfumo, 68, and his Blacks Unlimited band will fly in from the United States with the 61-year-old Mtukudzi – who will be starting his world tour – arriving from Zimbabwe.

Between them, the two men have released over 60 albums and sold millions of records and are revered national treasures.

The UK has become a favourite hunting ground for both artists with thousands of homesick fans looking forward to their annual stops on the island – although getting them on the same stage remains the gold dust of Zimbabwean entertainment.